dining

Chicken wing restaurant Hooters, best known for its waitress' distinct uniform of tight tops and orange short shorts, has announced plans to open a new, "fast-casual" restaurant this month.

Lunch shouldn't be boring. Heat up your lunch plans by spending them with us! pic.twitter.com/kzC4wJRhwA— West Coast Hooters (@WestCoastHoots) January 31, 2017

Hoots will not feature the signature outfits and will employ male and female servers, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Customers won't be served at traditional tables, but will receive counter service at a full-service bar instead.

“Just as with any traditional, fast-casual, counter service employee, there will be both male and female employees,” Lizz Harmon, spokesperson for Hoots, told The Huffington Post. “There will be order-at-the-counter (or online) and dine-in or take-away service. The uniform will be shorts or pants and a newly designed Hoots T-shirt.”

The new concept restaurant will feature a one-page menu with favorites from the classic Hooters restaurants.

Hoots is expected to open outside of Chicago in Cicero, Illinois, in mid-February, Hooters Management Corp. announced Tuesday. Hooters Management Corp. is based out of Clearwater, Florida. It's unclear if there are plans for additional Hoots restaurants in the future.

Get ready to kick your New Year's resolution to count carbs to the curb.

Olive Garden announced Monday that it is offering a new all-you-can-eat promotion – Never Ending Classics. Under the deal, which runs through March 6, customers can scarf down unlimited servings of pasta in one sitting.

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The promotion, which starts at $11.99, allows customers to pick from five entrees and includes unlimited soup or salad and breadsticks. Learn more here.

This isn't the restaurant chain's first time offering obscene amounts of food. In 2015 and 2016, customers could pay $100 for an Unlimited Pasta Pass good for seven weeks. The chain sold 21,000 of those passes last year.

Fast-food chain Wendy's is offering its customers the chance to receive free Frosty desserts for a year.

Customers need only purchase a $2 key tag.

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The company says 85 percent of the funds from key tag purchases will go toward the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption to support foster children waiting for their forever homes.

Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy's and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, became an important voice in adoption awareness in 1990. That year, he led a national public service campaign and encouraged business leaders to offer adoption benefits as part of their employee benefit plans. He later testified before Congress in support of adoption tax credits and adoption legislation, and he continued to be an advocate for foster children seeking permanent homes until his death in 2002.

The key tags can be purchased until Jan. 31. Customers who present the tag between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31 will receive a free Jr. Frosty with any purchase.

On Oct. 24, the company announced that it would give away free tacos if any player in the World Series stole a base. Taco Bell said it would name the player this year's "Taco Hero."

The next day, Cleveland Indians shortstop Francisco Lindor stole second in the first game of the series.

The stolen base awarded customers the opportunity to receive a complimentary Doritos Locos Taco on Wednesday between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. local time.

No purchase is necessary, but according to the promotion rules, a "participating Taco Bell restaurant manager reserves the right to deny Free Doritos Locos Taco to any person he/she reasonably believes has already received a Free Doritos Locos Taco."

Doritos Locos Tacos are a hard-shelled tacos whose shell is made out of Doritos product.

The "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" promotion is a one time deal, which means that regardless of any other steals players make during the remainder of the series, Nov. 2 is the only day to redeem free tacos. The promotion is the sixth World Series-inspired promotion Taco Bell has offered over the years.

Shaquille O'Neal just took ownership of an Atlanta-area Krispy Kreme store.

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The basketball Hall-of-Famer and sports and entertainment superstar announced Monday that he has become the owner of the Ponce de Leon location, which has been there for more than 60 years.

O'Neal, who has previously admitted to loving Krispy Kreme doughnuts, has compared his visits to the restaurants to a kid's experience in a candy store.

"In addition to Shaquille's status as a sports and entertainment icon and businessman, he is known for spreading joy, which aligns with our positioning and mission," said Tony Thompson, president and CEO of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. "We are confident this partnership will have a big impact for us in Atlanta and around the world."

O'Neal will also assume the role of a global spokesman for the doughnut company.

"Krispy Kreme prides itself on spreading joy and supporting local communities, and that's a cause that I am thrilled to be a part of," O'Neal said. "Our goal is to help people find their happy place, and what better way than with a box of delicious Krispy Kreme doughnuts."

For a limited time, Krispy Kreme is offering the "Shaq-or-Treat" promotion in which anyone who tags a social media post with #ShaqOrTreat will be eligible to win Krispy Kreme prizes or paraphernalia autographed by O'Neal. The promotion takes place Oct. 28-31.

Users will be faced with a grid of 16 cards and a minute on the clock to match ingredients in a memory game. Click on the cards to flip them over and match garlic-to-garlic, cilantro-to-cilantro and so on. When users click the cards with additives, the time is reduced by five seconds every time they're clicked.

Even players who don't win the game have an opportunity to win the buy-one-get-one-free coupon. The coupon is valid until Nov. 30.

The game is based on the company's animated short film "A Love Story," which aims to show how, over time, competition between restaurants has caused food to become increasingly processed and filled with additives -- thus the reason the additives dock you valuable time in the game.

Chipotle is now offering chorizo at locations across the country after finding success testing the product at select markets earlier this year.

The offering became widespread in the U.S. starting Oct. 4, National Taco Day.

"The reaction to chorizo in the cities that have had it has been overwhelmingly positive, so we're making it available in all of our restaurants across the country," said Chipotle founder, chairman and co-CEO Steve Ells.

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The fast food chain first tested the meat at Chipotle locations in Kansas City, Missouri; Ohio, New York City, California, Colorado and Washington, D.C.

According to the company, Chipotle's chorizo is made with a blend of pork and white-meat chicken and is seasoned with paprika, toasted cumin and chipotle peppers.

Customers can request chorizo in any of the company's burrito, taco, burrito bowl and salad offerings.

"Since we opened the first Chipotle 23 years ago, our menu has changed very little, and our focus has been on constantly improving the quality and taste of the food we serve," Ells said earlier this year. "While we have never been opposed to changing our menu, we only do so when we think there's an opportunity to add something that is really unique but that fits within our overall menu, and where we can find ingredients that meet our high standards."

Business Insider said Chick-fil-A is "statistically the most polite chain in the restaurant business," after a QSR Magazine report showed positive attributes of customer service at the chicken chain.

The annual drive-thru report, released Monday, showed employees made eye contact with customers 87.9 percent of the time, said "please" 61.8 percent of the time and had a pleasant demeanor 93.9 percent of the time. Employees also smiled 90.9 percent of the time and said "thank you" 95.2 percent of the time.

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The report included data from 15 fast food chains and data from 1,948 visits.

Among the other restaurants included were Arby's, Panera, McDonald's, KFC, Starbucks, Taco Bell, Burger King and Wendy's.

Employees at Chick-fil-A were the most likely of the 15 chains surveyed to say "please" and "thank you" and to smile at drive-thru customers.

The only chain that had workers more likely to have a pleasant demeanor than Chick-fil-A was PDQ, a Tampa-based company known for its chicken tenders. PDQ has locations in less than 10 states.

"It's all about speed and accuracy, but we know our customers appreciate that we can be nice while being fast and accurate," Mark Moraitakis, senior director of hospitality and service design, told QSR. "Eye contact and smiling go a long way in the drive-thru experience."

During the month of October, Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the company will sell its signature Pink Ribbon Bagel, a twist on the Cherry Vanilla Bagel, a mix of cherry chips, dried cherries, honey, vanilla and brown sugar. A portion of the proceeds of the Pink Ribbon bagel will be donated to local nonprofits across the country.

Erin Barnhart, community relations manager for a Panera Bread franchise based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, said each participating market has its own breast cancer partners.

"The partner really does make a difference," she said. "We appreciate our local partners, as their support can make all the difference in achieving our goals of building awareness and raising funds for treatment and research."

Panera has more than 1,600 locations in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

Select markets offer a 100 percent donation day, during which the entirety of that day's sales of Pink Ribbon Bagels is donated to breast cancer focused organizations, according to Panera's website.

In Dayton, Ohio, proceeds will be donated to local nonprofit Pink Ribbon Girls and the Miami Valley Hospital Foundation.

"We make this campaign a priority every year for a reason," said Sam Covelli, owner and operator of Covelli Enterprises, the Ohio-based franchisee of Dayton-area Panera Bread restaurants. "The funds raised by the Pink Ribbon Bagel are helping to save the lives of local women with breast cancer. There's no better feeling than knowing you can help make difference."

Pink Ribbon Girls provide free direct services to patients and their families undergoing breast and other women's reproductive cancer treatment through their programs.

Mikki Clancy, chief operating officer of Miami Valley Hospital, survived breast cancer and said she benefited from the services of Pink Ribbon Girls and the hospital.

"Pink Ribbon Girls and Miami Valley Hospital were a godsend in my treatment and recovery," she said. "Supporting these community assets serves hundreds of local patients in their fight against cancer."

Twelve participating West Virginia area Panera locations will donate to Susan G. Komen West Virginia.

"We are so excited to partner with Panera Bread for the sixth year to raise funds and awareness during Breast Cancer Awareness month," said Donna DeHart, executive director West Virginia Susan G. Komen. "The Pink Ribbon Bagels are always a big hit with our survivors, volunteers, grantees and supporters. Money raised from the October campaign will be used to provide uninsured and under-insured West Virginians with life-saving screenings and awareness."

According to the Panera website, the franchise has raised tens of thousands of dollars for breast cancer partners through Pink Ribbon Bagel campaigns in the past 10 years.

"It's not a hard sell," Barnhart said. "People want to be involved in whatever way they can. That's what's so great about the Pink Ribbon Bagel. People might say, 'I can't write a check, but I can buy a bagel.'"